Chrome beats Internet Explorer to take the top browser spot worldwide

Google’s Chrome has been kicking some serious butt in the browser wars lately. It recentlyraced past Firefox to become the No. 2 browser in the world, and now, according to one measure, it has beaten Microsoft’s Internet Explorer to reach the top spot.

The numbers are close, but there’s no mistaking the trends. Internet Explorer has been in steady decline, while Chrome’s adoption has grown at almost the same pace.

Interestingly, Firefox had been losing share, but its decline has stabilized since the first of the year.

The numbers are very different when you look at North American and U.S. markets.

In North America, IE still holds a healthy lead over Chrome, at 32.76 percent to 25.86 percent. In the U.S., gap is wider – IE has 37.81 percent, while Chrome has 23.83 percent. Also in these markets, Firefox’s decline has reversed and it’s showing an uptick.

Still, the trends are clear and if they hold, you can expect Chrome to eventually pass IE in North America and the U.S.

Of course, the StatCounter numbers are just one metric. And they look very different from the browser share numbers compiled for April by NetApplications.

Even with the launch of Windows 8 later this year, I don’t see much to halt Internet Explorer’s long, slow slide. It’s likely being kept afloat in the U.S. by corporations who lock down their Windows PCs, but even that appears to be changing. Barring some unforeseen shift, Chrome looks like it’s on a steady march to become the new top browser.